For Forever
by Inquisitori
Summary: This is an alternate universe where a ghost is forced to resurrect Cayde-6. This takes place about three months after the death of our beloved hunter vanguard. I will do my best not to veer too far from personalities. Slow burn romance, some angst, character death. Anything you might expect from a fic about Cayde-6 coming back. Female!Guardian x Cayde-6. Twitter: @ForForeverFic
1. Prologue

There was nothing but darkness. No light at the end of the tunnel, no golden gates, nothing. Cayde-6 had lost his breath with his final words, and then ultimately, his life. That was when the darkness flooded in and his systems shut down.

Death sucked. Until Luxana came along.

Cayde jolted awake with a deep gasp, expecting every bit of his body to be in pain. He was expecting to be on the floor of the prison or even on the way back to the tower. What Cayde was not expecting was to be lying in a dark marble room, covered in the white and gold sheet of the vanguard. What had also surprised him was that he was completely repaired. He lifted a hand, touching his face gently, afraid that he might feel broken shards of what he used to be.

"Cayde..? Are you with me?" The ghost asked, her voice soft and gently melodic as she floated curiously around him. Cayde was more than a little confused, his bright blue optics still focusing after nearly a full month of no use. He had absolutely no idea where he was.

"Uh.. I'm not wherever I just was, if that's what you're asking.." he answered, voice mirroring every ounce of confusion he felt. He shifted to move off of the marble surface he was laying on, finding that he was incredibly stiff. He was pleased to find that he was still wearing the Andal's cowl. Unfortunately, he had absolutely no weapons at all. He turned his attention to the ghost then, realization slowly setting in as she began to speak again.

"Well, no.. you were dead a few minutes ago. Now you're not. Thought you knew that." She paused, eying him curiously. This was not Sundance. Cayde blinked and in that brief moment, he saw the shot that took his last ghost away from him. He watched the pieces of her blow apart in front of him as his light left his body completely. As he remembered that very moment, it all came back in a flurry of memories. Sundance dying, his last stand, pissing off Uldren, getting shot by his own damn gun.. it was all there. He remembered the guardian, one of his best hunters, holding him at the end. He heard her voice for the first time then as she told him not to let go.. to wait for someone who could help. But he couldn't hold on. Life slipped from his body. His systems shut down. So why was he here?

"Whoa, whoa.. hold on. I died back then and now I'm here. Are you some kind of spooky afterlife ghost?" He knew he sounded ridiculous, but despite all of the confusion and peril, he needed to keep a sense of humor. He had always believed so. Still, he had no damn clue what was going on.

The ghost let out a small robotic giggle before catching herself. "Well, you did die, yes. But no, this isn't the afterlife. I was sent to bring you back." She chirped, floating in a small circle around him as he finally pushed himself up into a standing position, trying to get his footing back. Of course, it was easier than it would have been for most organic life considering he was an exo. The ghost continued, "I am called Luxana. I am glad to see you're okay."

Cayde frowned, the corners of his mouth plates tilting downward. He just had a new ghost? A second chance? Just like that?

"Yeah, hi. Thanks for bringing me back and all, but who sent you to do so?" He asked, taking a glance around the room as he realized just how cramped the space was. He had barely heard her tell him that she couldn't say as he found the plaque above where his head was resting.

"Holy shit.." he whispered, his fingers raising to trace over the shape of the two crossing pistols, both bearing the Ace of Spades. His name was printed below in simple font, followed by 'A skilled hunter, member of the vanguard, and loyal friend.' It was hardly the words that got to Cayde in that moment.. they were just generic epitaph words. But as he looked around, the entire crypt was littered with flowers and random trinkets, old and new. People must have often come to visit, paying their respect by giving him the one thing he always adored: stuff.

"It is great, isn't it? How people come here every day?" Luxana broke in to his trance, floating up beside him to admire his plaque. "How awkward it will be for them to realize that they needn't have spent the glimmer on all of this quite yet."

Cayde was caught off guard by the joke, unable to halt the laugh that escaped him at that. He shook his head before turning his eyes to his new companion. "Oh, please tell me they spent a fortune on a statue for me."


	2. Chapter One - Amalia

The days since Uldren Sov shot Cayde had gone by far too quickly for Amalia's liking. It was a month ago that she finished Sov and Zavala actually reprimanded her for doing so despite the consequences he warned her about. She had no doubt in her mind that if it were Zavala that had been murdered, he would expect the entire guardian army to assist the Titans in avenging him; and everyone knows that anyone in the Tower would avenge Ikora. Cayde was different. He ran into the Prison of Elders itching to pull the trigger, making jokes, and expecting to walk away unscathed.

Amalia thought of these things often, but not nearly as often as the look on Sov's face as she pulled the trigger; the very same trigger he pulled to kill Cayde-6. The guardian had nightmares almost every night about the light leaving her mentor's optics and the sound of his voice as he made his final request. She couldn't bear to bring herself to the crypt where they laid him to rest. None of it felt real. She thought that maybe killing Uldren would make the stabbing pain in her gut ease, but it only made it worse. Her heart was heavy with anger, grief, and most of all, guilt. How could she let him recklessly shoot himself down into the lower levels without backup? The thought left a sour taste in her mouth. She could have saved him.

"There was nothing you could have done," the voice of her ghost cut through her thoughts, his tone an attempt at comfort and reassurance.

Amalia scoffed, shooting her ghost a look. Of course she could have stopped him; She could have grabbed him or talked him out of it.

"You think you could have stopped Cayde from pulling a stunt to make him look that badass?"

There was a long moment of silence before the guardian sighed, rolling her shoulder in a half-hearted shrug before turning her attention to the hangar around them. This was when it seemed to be the busiest. Amanda was hard at work repairing a young Titan's sparrow, likely going far too fast in the E.D.Z. The hint of smile that crept across her lips at the idea faded as Amalia caught sight of The Colonel nestled in her corner of the Hunter Vanguard's post. She had done her best to take care of the poor girl, but Amalia's duties often got in the way. She'd be gone days at a time, and that just wasn't fair to Colonel. The upside was that the other Hunters absolutely loved taking care of her and she loved all of the attention. Amalia smiled to herself, remembering the way Cayde would walk Colonel around the Tower, having conversations only Cayde would understand.

With a deep breath, the Guardian hoisted herself up, still careful to be quiet. She often sat up in the ducts and rafters, watching the people go about their days below. There were ways to find her if needed, but she enjoyed the solitude to think and reminisce. There was an old conference room that looked over a view of the mountains that she loved to camp out in. No one had been in the room for months. Most likely because the only real way in is through a ventilation shaft. It had become a sort of home for the Guardian. It had a long, curved couch she often took naps on, a large round table she used to plot out attacks, and even a bar that she immediately stocked. She kept a journal there to keep herself prepared in case something else were to go horribly wrong. She could trace back the events that happened and learn from them.

She often wished she'd had the idea to do this long before going to the Prison of Elders.

"We should meet with Banshee-44 soon, guardian," her ghost started, hovering along behind her as she navigated her way back to the platform leading down behind Dead Orbit. After a moment's hesitation, he continued, "he's finished repairing the Ace of Spades for you."

She faltered in her step slightly as she made her way down the stairs, remembering the exo was fixing up the hand cannon for her. Cayde's hand cannon. Wouldn't it feel wrong to use? Or would it feel.. better in some way?, Amalia thought to herself, her eyes fixed on the walkway ahead.

"I think he would want you to, personally," The ghost started, growing quieter at the end of his statement once he realized that she wasn't actually trying to share her thoughts just now. He mumbled an apology of course, but she waved it off as they approached the gunsmith's table. She had barely been listening, but Banshee's words snapped her out of it.

"Have you seen Cayde lately?" The exo asked, his memory failing him once more. Amalia's heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. She gave him a moment in hopes that the memory would return. Giving a small wave she turned to walk away, listening as her ghost said goodbye, but she couldn't stand around and wait. She needed to be alone.

She headed directly for her hideaway, fighting the grief that was both for Banshee and as a result of him.


End file.
